A banner year for video gamers is coming to a close, but 2009 could play out to be even better. Two familiar franchises now top the 2008 sales chart, Mario Kart Wii and Grand Theft Auto IV. But beyond these completely different games, a wide selection of releases is catering to an ever-varying audience.

Manny Pacquiao's rematch victory over Juan Manuel Marquez was worth every minute of the four-year wait. Pacquiao won a narrow split decision to claim Marquez's WBC 130-pound title Saturday night in a sensational fight that left two of the world's best boxers bloody and triumphant.

So your family was lucky enough to get a Nintendo Wii this past holiday season. Or maybe you got your kids a Microsoft Xbox 360 or Sony PlayStation 3 to play Rock Band or Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. Now the kids want some new games to play and while you aren't really concerned about content on Dora the Explorer, others like Halo 3, Assassin's Creed, God of War and the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Brawl have you wondering what your children might come across in them.

David West remembers what some NBA talent bird dogs thought of him a few years ago. And he never wants to forget. West, perhaps the league's most underrated power forward, has progressed since the Hornets made him their first pick, 18th overall, in the 2003 NBA draft. It was a precocious class that produced LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.

In December, Nintendo had its biggest month ever with the hot-selling game system. Holiday shoppers bought 1.4 million Wiis, according to sales data released Thursday by the NPD Group. The Wii's success helped drive the video game industry to a record-setting $17.9 billion in sales, about 43% higher than 2006's $12.5 billion, which was also a record.

The popularity of the Nintendo Wii continues to grow, with November as the biggest month in sales so far for the hotly sought-after game console. Nintendo sold 981,000 of the Wii systems in the U.S. during November.

Graphic scenes of gunshot victims spurting blood and a jailer urinating into a prisoner's cell are included among the 10 video games that a media watchdog group warns should be avoided by kids and teens under 17.

Grand Theft Auto fans are going to have to wait a bit longer for the next installment. Take-Two Interactive announced Thursday that Grand Theft Auto IV would not be released Oct. 18 for Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 video game systems, as originally planned. Instead, the game will arrive in spring of 2008, "due to additional development time required to complete the title," the company said in a statement.